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“The two of you will take care of Bird and live your lives. This’ll all be over before you know it.”
“What am I supposed to do without you?” I whispered painfully.
“You’ll do what I raised you to do,” she said firmly, sitting back in her seat. “You’ll take care of Bird, and you’ll go to school, and you’ll come visit your old nana once in a while.”
“Love you, Nanny.”
“Love you, too. Now go get dressed while I wake Bird.”
The time had come.
The following hour was one that I’d later completely block from my memory. It was as if the pain of saying goodbye was too much for my psyche, so I’d just put it behind a locked door in my mind. Bird cried. Nana wore a brave face. Rumi got choked up as he said goodbye in the driveway—Nana wouldn’t let us go to the police station. I walked around the house in a daze.
Then, as Nana walked toward her car and I forced my teeth together so I wouldn’t call her back, a car pulled into the driveway.
Brenna, Callie, and Farrah climbed out.
“You headed in?” Farrah asked Nana as she strode purposefully toward her. She wrapped her in a fierce hug before Nana could answer, whispering something I couldn’t hear.
We met them in the middle of the driveway, and Brenna handed me a manila envelope.
“Signed and notarized,” Brenna said, looking from me to Nana. “Ava signed the papers. Nova has full guardianship of Bird.”
“What?” I whispered, looking down at the envelope.
“We wanted you to know before you left,” Callie told Nana, a sympathetic smile on her face. “One less thing to worry about.”
“How in the hell did you get her to sign these?” I asked, glancing at Bird, who was taking full advantage of the extra time with Nana, his arms around her waist.
“Someone thought that the weight of the club might hold some sway,” Callie said, her eyes on Rumi.
“You did this?” I asked in confusion as Rumi looked at the ground in embarrassment and scratched the back of his neck. “Rumi?”
“I still want to get married,” he blurted, his ears turning red as all the women looked at him. “But—” He shrugged. “But if she signed, keepin’ Bird was a sure thing. I thought it was a good idea to try.”
Letting the envelope dangle in my fingers, I went to him, tears filling my eyes. “Are you always going to fix everything?” I asked, wrapping my arms around his waist. “What the hell, Rum?”
“You’re still gonna marry me, right?” he said, wrapping his hands around my skull to tip my head back. “I already found you a ring.”
“Yes,” I whispered, smiling. He sounded so nervous. “But not today.”
“You sure?”
“We’ve got time,” I reminded him.
“You’re not movin’ out,” he said as if the idea had just occurred to him. “You and Bird are livin’ with me, right?”
“I doubt I could afford anywhere else,” I joked.
“You’re fuckin’ hilarious,” he muttered, leaning down to kiss me. “Love you, sugar.”
“Love you, too.”
Rumi’s eyes were full of emotion as he wiped my cheeks gently. “Go say goodbye to your nana, baby. I’ll get Bird, yeah?”
The women kept their distance as I walked Nana to her car, and Rumi wrapped Bird in a bear hug, holding Bird against his chest.
“I’ll leave my keys at the front desk,” Nana reminded me. She pulled me into a tight hug, letting go before I was ready. Then she climbed into her car and backed out of the driveway. She didn’t look back.
